


Maybe the real treasure was the friends he made along the way?

by flye



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempt at Humor, But only because Link is an idiot, Canon-Typical Violence, I ain't paying your dentist bills btw, Light Angst, Link has a horrible sense of direction, Link is an oblivious fool, Link isn't depressed he's just a lil sad, M/M, Pining, Sidon is a beautiful cinnamon roll, Slow Burn, Swearing, Talking Link, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, also: spoilers, at times at least, because it's me and who are we kidding, but he uses sign too, if he just used his brain this fic would end by chapter 4, just... so much pining, too good for this world, too pure, why? because I say so
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-18 11:26:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14212128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flye/pseuds/flye
Summary: Link, the hero of Time, former personal knight for Princess Zelda and Hylian Champion wakes up naked with no memories and also with a banging headache that seems like it's been waiting a hundred years to plague him. As he finds out that heapparanetlyneeds to go save the kingdom, he realizes that he has no choice and goes out on a quest to not only find himself... But also love and meaning.He meets Sidon, the Zora prince and suddenly Link has someone worth saving.He becomes Sidon's Most Treasured Friend™, but maybe... Maybe he could be something more?





	1. Link has no friends so he gets a horse

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to this mess of a fic. Yes, a couple of things will be different from canon, I felt like doing it that way and I hope that's fine with you. c:
> 
> My humor is kind of on the weird side, especially seeing as I'm writing this mostly when I'm actually supposed to sleep, so expect _a lot_ of italics, parenthesis and a bunch of stupid puns and references... Sorry in advance.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link is an asshole

Link has had better mornings, so to speak. Mornings when he didn't wake up drenched (in what he hoped was water), cold, weak, starving, thirsty and to top it all of, with no memories whatsoever. Also: he was naked. But this morning, at least he thinks it's morning, he did, and he was. Waking up with no memories is _weird_. It's like you're not sure who you are or what you're supposed to do. Link didn't even know his own name (or what a name was, for that matter) until a strange, female voice called it out to him and told him he had a destiny to fulfill. A _duty_.

He actually considered his name a bit as he made his way out of the Shrine of Resurrection into the _extremely bright_ world outside. Link? That's kind of a dumb name, he thought. But now was really not the time to shame his parents for their name-choosing talents (or rather, their lack thereof), because, you know... _Apparently_ he had to do something. And so he did (although, he didn't dress himself in those tiny clothes he found, because who even gives a shit?). He met the old man, he found the so-called treasure in the four shrines and got the paraglider, which he used to leap off the Great Plateau into the unknown...

And that's where this story truly begins.

***

Link turned the map an approximate 73.2 degrees to the left and scratched his head in confusion as he stood amidst a field of dead Bokoblins (what? He just defended himself, _they_ attacked _him_!). From where he'd landed on Hyrule Fields after his leap of faith from the Great Plateau he'd somehow managed to make his way to the Outskirt stable where he'd acquired a map without even having to speak to anyone. They practically threw the map at him, so he decided to be on his way seeing as the day had only just begun. He knew he should probably make his way to Kakariko Village, but he wasn't really sure how to get there. Was this map even the right way around? Maybe it was upside down?

"Excuse me, young man," a voice called from behind and Link turned to face the mysterious caller. It was an old merchant on a spotted horse, the merchant smiled a friendly smile at Link. "You seem lost, do you mayhaps need directions?"

Link was just about to reply when he got this weird sensation in his hands, like he wanted to do something with them. He didn't really feel angry or threatened, so it couldn't be that he wanted to punch the merchant... Also _why would he want to punch the merchant?_ But the feeling disappeared as suddenly as it appeared and Link answered the old man.

"Thanks, that'd be nice."

The old merchant dismounted his horse and took a look at Link's map. "Where are you going?" he asked, an eyebrow quirked at Link as he rotated the map. Link tried not to look ashamed. And failed. "I'm-- uhh, I was thinking of going to Kakariko Village," he replied sheepishly.

"Kakariko, huh? Lovely place, I've been there a few during my time as a merchant. It's past that mountain -- the Dueling Peaks. It's a few days travel to the east from here by horse, by foot though..." The man trailed off, looking at something in the distance. "It would take considerably longer, I would advise you to get yourself a horse."

Link nodded at this. "I see, where do you reckon the nearest spot to do that is?" 

The man thought for a few seconds before replying."That field over there has plenty of horses," he said. "I'm darn well certain you could find yourself one mighty steed there if you tried."

Link just nodded as a reply and bid the merchant farewell before making his way to the field. There he found plenty of horses, as promised.

"Which one of you will I call mine?" Link asked to no one in particular, except maybe the horses, as he scanned the field for a horse that he wanted. Not far from where he was standing, he was it: A dark brown, almost black, solid colored horse with a light yellow mane. Perfect.

***

"Elrian, I swear to Hylia that if you do not move this instant I will barbecue you for dinner and treat the Bokoblins chasing us to it as a peace offering, do you hear me?" Link said, voice stern and filled with anxiety as he peeked behind his back to see the hoard of Bokoblins gaining on them as they were stuck. Apparently Link's new steed Elrian didn't feel like moving right now, the _super tiny, almost inexistant_ ledge was _too scary_ to climb and _way too frightening_ to go around. The only choice was to stand still, because Goodness knows that turning around wasn't an option.

Link gritted his teeth. If this was how he ended then... Yeah, well, Link didn't really know what he'd do. He'd be dead, of course, but he hadn't really accomplished anything so... It's kinda easy to have no regrets when all you know is that your name is Link, you need to save Zelda and Hyrule, oh and also: you've been sleeping for about a hundred years.

That's all.

But seeing as that _is_ all, Link really didn't have anything to say about his possible impending and untimely death. But whatever. He gave Elrian another spur and suddenly they were soaring through the fields of Central Hyrule, Bokoblins be damned.

It took Link and Elrian the rest of the day to make their way to Proxim Bridge, where Link decided to put up camp for the night. There was a shrine conveniently located just behind the bridge as well, so Link spent the rest of the evening solving it to get some more strength (and also some treasure, because who are we kidding?). The next day he saddled up (or not, because Elrian didn't have a saddle yet) and rode off into the sunset. Not literally though. He carefully avoided moving around after dark due to the heightened risk of, you know, _dying_. He rode along the road between the Dueling Peaks leading up to the stable and made it there just in time for lunch.

_Two weeks later_

"What do you _mean_ the bananas cost 99 Rupees? That's basically a robbery! They grow like grass in Faron, why the hell would I pay a fortune for them here, from you?" Link argued, loudly and angrily at the merchant trying to sell him (more like threatening him into buying) his mighty bananas. During his time in Hyrule since his second life -- as he liked to call it -- had begun he'd found that he _loved_ to talk. And he did it loud and often, with a passion. Arguing? Even better. He realized he was probably quite rude at times, but this guy started it so he didn't really feel too bad about it. Though some days Link woke up and didn't feel like talking at all, and so he would communicate solely by grunts, pointed glanced and simple hand gestures. But today he felt like talking.

"Well, they're _here_ and _now_ for starters," the traveling merchant said bitterly. "Also you don't have to fight a hoard of Lizalfos for them. You only have to fight... Me!" And at that, the merchant suddenly transformed into a Yiga footsoldier, something that a few weeks ago would have made Link so scared that he'd almost (just almost) piss himself but that now just mildly inconveniences him. "I'm not robbing you of your money, I'm robbing you of your life!" The Yiga footsoldier laughed out and Link just sighed. Really? He could have said the one where they say: "Now get ready to pay... With your life!" Because that one is actually less cringe-worthy (although still quite cringe-worthy, if the Yiga career doesn't work out for them they could start anew as stand-up comedians).

"Again?!" Link sighed as he drew his trusty Flameblade, that without a doubt would probably break in, like, two days but whatever. He skillfully used his blade to wound the Yiga footsoldier enough to make him scram and somehow also manage to leave his wallet and some mighty bananas behind. Huh. Every time. 

Having done a quick check that both he and Elrian were fine, he got up on Elrian and rode off towards the Lanayru tower. He had to murder a bunch of Lizalfos in cold blood on the way and also gallop away screaming bloody murder when a Guardian appeared out of nowhere but he'd finally reached the top of the tower by the time the sun set.

Link doesn't expect people to be on top of the towers. The climb is long and dangerous, and not to mention difficult, and what business does anybody but _him_ have climbing the towers? They didn't have a shiekah slate, so they really gained nothing from climbing them. 

But this time, someone was on top of the tower. And Link could do nothing but stare at... Him? What Link didn't know is that this man standing atop of Lanayru tower at sunset, was the start of Link's _real_ adventure. A man whom Link would remember for quite a long time and eventually thank for his involvment in Link's happiness. But for now, Link was unaware -- and so he would be for quite some time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, yes, thank you for reading the first chapter! This one was basically just the prologue ^^; we'll meet Sidon and the Zora first thing in the next chapter, and that's when the actual plot will kick in. For this chapter I just wanted to show my writing style and set the mood for the story that'll follow. Get to know what Link we're dealing with and all that stuff. I won't summarize as much as I did in this chapter in the future, by the way, if that annoyed you. Hope it wasn't as unbearingly boring to read as it was to write xD I promise the rest of the chapters will be more interesting, really. Goodbye, and I hope I will see you at the next chapter? c:
> 
> Please do remember to leave a comment (and a Kudos!) as they are literally the fuel that makes me go, more important than the air I breathe and the food I eat (I'm in a constant need of validation and a total attention whore, sorry xD) and also because it's really nice if you would. Seriously, even criticism is alright because I'd love everybody's honest opinion, how else can I grow as an author?


	2. Link stumbles upon a real fishy dude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link finds out that fish-people are real. He may also find one of them handsome but he will deny it until the end of time... At least he _thinks_ he will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, two chapters in two days? I'm on _fire_.

It would seem... The man was a fish.

Link wasn't really sure whether to be scared or confused. So he settled for something right in-between and slowly approached the fish-man, maybe if he moved slow enough the creature wouldn't be threatened.

Suddenly... The fish-man spoke.

"Oh! I cannot believe it!" he said before clearing his throat. "Excuse me!" The fish-man said, and Link looked around to see if maybe he was talking to someone else as he put a hand to his chest as if to say _'who, me?'_.

"Yes, you!" The fish-man continued and Link turned his attention to him. "I am Gruve of the Zora. May I ask... What brought a traveler as yourself all the way up here?"

Link didn't really feel like explaining his situation to this man. How would he explain that he was the Hylian Champion, who had been asleep in a shrine for the past 100 years and who's on a mission to free all the Divine Beast and ultimately defeat Calamity Ganon and bring peace to Hyrule? Alright, so maybe that's _exactly_ what he would say, but would Gruve even understand? Probably not. So Link found a way to avoid the question altogether.

"I could ask you the same question," he replied and Gruve suddenly looked very pleased. 

"How very astute of you! An excellent query indeed!" He replied, almost gleefully. "I, by order of Prince Sidon of Zora's Domain, am searching for a Hylian... Or I _was_ , but then I fell asleep."

 _'Prince Sidon, huh?'_ Link thought to himself. _'So Zora's Domain is a monarchy, then.'_

"I awoke to a loud noise and an awful quaking, and here I am," Gruve continued and Link raised a shocked eyebrow at the man. _'But that would mean...'_ Link thought as he counted the days in his head. _'... that he's been up here for what... Three weeks?!'_

Gruve paid no attention to Link's shocked face, but just continued explaining. "I'd like to get down and be on my way now that I've found you only..." He looked down. "No! Nope! Nu-uh! It's not happening. It's too high up!"

Link sighed and put a hand over his face. This was just ridiculous.

Gruve turned back to Link, glancing at him thoughtfully. "But you are a Hylian, yes?"

Link nodded.

"Well then! It seems like my luck is improving! Excuse me for just a second while I--" he turned around towards the edge of the tower and gazed down again. "Prince Sidon!" he yelled with his hands cupped as a megaphone around his mouth. "I found one! I FOUND A HYLIAN!"

And then he and Link just stood there for a minute or so, while the Prince down below remained silent. Gruve sighed a little, seemingly embarrassed. "Eh, well it would seem that he cannot hear us... How about you go ahead? I'll follow behind at... At a later point."

Link sighed, not really feeling like meeting some stuck-up royal and do whatever it was that he wanted Link to do (maybe the Zora Prince just wanted to meet a Hylian, like some sort of Circus animal. Link wasn't really into that idea). But he didn't want to disappoint this 'Gruve of the Zora', so he pretended as if he were interested and took his paraglider down to the shrine that was in the same direction as this _Prince of the Zora_.

"Oh, my!" A voice suddenly says, and Link turns around to find that a Zora woman is its source. He sighs.

"How wonderful! You are a Hylian, yes?" She says, Link nods. "Yup."

"Perfect!" The female Zora smiles. "It must be my lucky day! I am Torfeau of the Zora, and I have been searching for a Hylian like you for a very long time. You see, my home -- Zora's Domain -- is in terrible danger," she said and Link suddenly grew interested in what she had to say.

"That's why Prince Sidon sent me in search of a strong Hylian warrior!"

"Oh," Link said, looking sheepish and just a tiny bit ashamed that he was just about to scram on them.

"Prince Sidon is waiting there, on Inogo Bridge. I would be very grateful if you would go there and meet him!" Torfeau said, and Link looked at where she was pointing. Link could _just_ make out the silhouette of someone.

"Alright, I'll go meet him and see if I can be of any help," Link muttered with an embarrassed frown on his face before he leaped off to land next to the bridge.

"Say, hey there!" Came a voice, and Link looked around to find its source. Nothing. "Young one!" The voice continued, and Link tried not to scoff at the fact that he was essentially 100 and... Eighteen or something.

"Up top! Above you~" The voice continued in a sing-song voice and just as Link looked up a _giant_ , red Zora suddenly jumped off from a small tower, made a flip in the air and landed in front of him. That must be the Prince, then.

Link wasn't too sure about the necessity of the flip, though.

"Pardon the entrance, but you are a Hylian, aren't you?"

Link sighed inaudibly, this is literally the third time someone had asked him that in a matter of ten minutes. He nodded, _again_. "Yeah, that's right."

"Fantastic!" the Zora whom Link assumed was the reputed Prince Sidon said with a huge, blinding grin. _'Huh,_ Link thought. _' He's pretty handsome... For a fish.'_

He then immediately decided to never, _ever_ think about that _ever_ again. He _really_ must be feeling lonely if he just thought this fish-man looked handsome. Wow, that's an all-time low for him, he decided.

"I was hoping perhaps you'd have a moment to talk?" the Zora said as he stretched his arms out as if to hug Link. "I am Sidon, the Zora prince!" He said and pumped a fist as he showed off his winning smile. Link couldn't decide whether to gag or to swoon.

"And what's your name?" Sidon asked. "Go on, please tell me!"

"It's uhh, it's Link."

"Link? Your name is Link?! What a fantastic name!" Sidon said, however Link doubted it. Was this guy always this enthusiastic? Must be exhausting...

Link kind of envied him.

Sidon continued his overly-enthusiastic speech. " To be honest, I've been watching you." 

Link now decided that the Zora Prince was, in fact, a creep.

"I can tell by the way you carry yourself that you're no ordinary Hylian," Sidon continued and Link reconsidered to maybe, just _maybe_ lift the creep stamp from Sidon.

"Link! You must be a strong warrior amongst the Hylians, correct?"

"I, uh, I guess?" Link replied, not sure what to say, really. He'd just started his adventure but all around him, people were telling him that he was the Hero of Hyrule, destined to defeat the Calamity and bring peace to Hyrule and all that stuff. So... He guessed?

Sidon didn't seem to care that Link was unsure.

"Aha! Just as I expected! I am the Zora prince, after all. I have an eye for talent that is unparalleled!"

No humbleness here.

"So whatcha need help with?" Link asked, and Sidon's whole face seemed to lit up at Link's question.

"Oh, I'm so happy you asked! You see, my home is in grave danger. The Divine Beast Vah Ruta is causing a massive rainfall and we need the help of a Hylian to stop and calm the beast."

 _'Why would rain be of any problem for them... They're fish,'_ Link thought but decided not to ask.

"Would you please come with me to Zora's Domain?" Sidon asked with large doe eyes. How could Link say no?

"Of course," he said. "I'd love to."

"Fantastic! If you go up that path over there and follow it, you should eventually reach the domain. I will follow you from the river and make sure you don't get lost. However, maybe you would like to wait until morning first?"

Link shook his head no. "That's ok, I can rest at the Domain."

Sidon grinned from ear to ear at Link's words. "A true hero, then!" He looked as if he was just about to leave, but then he hit his fist into his palm. "That's right! I wanted to give you something!"

Link raised two surprised eyebrows as Sidon opened a little pouch on his belt and picked something up. He hadn't expected a gift from this strange man he'd just met, but who is he to say no to a gift from royalty?

"It's just a little trinket to show I have faith in you," Sidon said with a smile as he handed Link an electro elixir. Link humbly accepts the gift with a tiny smile and a thank you.

Sidon just smiles and then makes a stylish backflip into the river. _'Show-off,'_ Link thinks before he leaves to make his way towards the Domain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing really happened in this chapter either... This was basically just _a lot_ of dialogue... But in the next chapter, I will start going off-script and Link and Sidon will spend some... _Actual_ time together. Seeing as you all probably have already played the game I won't describe everything in detail, because that'd just be boring. So I won't focus as much on Link adventure, but more on his and Sidon's relationship and their feelings for each other. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
> 
>  
> 
> ~~And remember to leave a comment and a kudos, if you haven't already~~ ;)


	3. Link commits mass genocide and flirts with a fish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An _actual_ fish this time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I _think_ there will be ten chapters. No promises though. I have this bad habit where I suddenly just... Write _sooo_ much more than I'm supposed to so this might legit become ten times as long. We'll see, I guess. xD

Link hated Lizalfoses. _Truly_ , genuinely _loathed_ them. Mostly because of the fact that they would jump out of nowhere, having camouflaged themselves so that Link wouldn't see them and be surprised when they suddenly smashed his head in from behind.

The smashing his head in from behind part was not a joke by the way. He's lucky he's managed to catch a few fairies during his visit to the fairy fountain.

He'd managed to make headway, in any case, (but only because he'd literally killed every single Lizalfos that he'd come across) and had now reached the Bank of Wishes. He sat down on the beach, tired, in pain and totally and completely exhausted.

"Link!" he could hear how Prince Sidon yelled from the river. "How are you, I haven't seen you in a while, since you went into the forest," he continued, before frowning as his gaze shifted to the wound on Link's arm that a particularly sneaky Lizalfos had given him with its forked Lizal boomerang, that same boomerang was now safely secured on Link's back.

How's that for payback?

"Are you alright?" The Zora continued, seemingly worried. Link nodded.

"It's fine, really. It's just a scratch," he replied, trying to convey as much confidence and nonchalance as he could muster. It _did_ hurt, but it's not like he wanted _Sidon_ to know that. Maybe he'd change his mind and not let Link help with the Divine Beast if Link showed too much weakness? Better treat his injury as a mere inconvenience, then.

Sidon frowned. "If you say so..."

"I'm just gonna rest for a short while here," Link continued, ignoring Sidon's strange worry for him and his wound as he lowered his head to take a look into his pouch. Sidon's face lit up. "Well, that's a good idea! I could help tend to your wound!"

Link snapped his head up to look at the Zora. "You what--" 

He didn't get to say anything else before Sidon was suddenly flying out of the river as if he'd been launched by a cannon. He landed gracefully right in front of Link after having performed yet _another_ backflip.

Link was pretty sure the Prince was just showing off, by now.

The Zora sat down next to Link and reached out a hand for Link's arm with a friendly smile. Link hesitated for a second before putting his arm in the Prince's large hand.

"What in all the world happened?" Prince Sidon asked, shocked and almost disgusted by the look on his face, as he gently examined Link's wound.

Link sighed. "Bastard Lizaflos sneaked up on me," he muttered bitterly.

Sidon huffed. "Cowardly."

Link just scoffed at that, amused. "Yeah, they're all like that. Luckily I've got a hard head," he said, and Sidon decided not to ask what that had to do with this cut _on his arm_.

Link stared out at the river. It was quite beautiful, really. The moonlight illuminated it and made it shine like crystals. Link could see the midnight sky reflected in the water and if not for the ripples he could probably have made out the starry sky as well. He could really just... Stay here for a few hours, if not for the fact that he knew he had to get going soon.

"Do you have any bandages?" Sidon asked and Link shifted his attention from the river to the Prince. He must've looked confused because Sidon soon continued. "For your arm," he clarified. "It needs bandaging or it will get infected."

"Oh," Link just replied before retrieving his arm to rummage through his bag, he was sure he had his first aid kit somewhere in here. When he finally found it, he handed it over to Sidon with a tiny smile. "Here you go," he said. 

Then they just sat there, for a while, while Sidon was tending to Link's cut and Link was enjoying the view of the Zora River. He was almost disappointed when Sidon huffed out a "here we go" as he tied a knot with the bandage to secure it to Link's arm and then stood up.

"We should get going, then," he smiled and Link nodded at him. "Yeah, we probably should."

Sidon's smile grew bigger, until it became a warm and gleeful grin. "Don't give up!" he said. "I believe in you!" 

And then he made _yet another backflip_ into the river, that goddamned show-off, but Link just smiled at it this time. It was actually kind of endearing in a way.

Link continued on his way, through some cliffs leading up to Oren Bride where he was attacked by some Electric keese and the up on a small ledge looking out at the river below. Down there he spotted Sidon again.

"Hey Prince Sidon!" he called, and the red Zora stopped and looked up to where the Hylian was standing.

"Why, hello there, Link. If you want to talk, perhaps the bridge up there would be a better spot?" he asked. "Less of a distance, that way."

Link just smirked. He took one more step closer to the ledge and looked down. It was _far_ , and if he fell into the water he'd probably be hurt. 

But Link wasn't planning on _falling_.

He leaped off the ledge with practiced grace and Sidon's eyes widened in shock at the sight. He was all but ready to _catch_ the Hylian if he had to, rather than having Link smash into the water below. But as it turned out, that wasn't needed. Link was suddenly carried away by the wind, holding on for dear life to a _paraglider_. The Hylian sailed smoothly over to the opposite side of the river, skipping a good twenty-minutes of his trek towards the domain.

Sidon couldn't help but to smile at the sight. Genious.

Link turned around towards the river as he landed safely on the ground, gave Sidon two thumbs-up and then he quickly ran away, continuing towards his goal. 

Sidon grinned. He made a good call asking this one for help.

By the time Link reached Luto's Crossing, he was _tired_. _Exhausted_ even. He kind of just wanted to sleep. But _of course_ a Moblin just _had_ to sneak up on him from behind. Whatever, the Moblin was easy enough to kill anyways, but after taking a look at his map, Link realized that even with the shortcut he'd taken, there was still a long way to go.

But Link just so happened to be _great_ at shortcuts. He told Sidon to go ahead and wait for him at the Domain and the Zora complied, but Link could see that he did so rather grudgingly.

Link took another look at his map and plotted up an adjusted course that he estimated would cut down his travel time by half. He smiled to himself as he turned a sharp right by Ruto Mountain, away from the trail and out to the side. He truly _was_ a genius. Not only would he avoid most of the monsters he would also not have to walk as far as he would otherwise have.

The only problem was that Link didn't really know how to read maps. So he accidentally took a wrong turn. Where he should have turned _left_... He turned _right_.

Suddenly he found himself above what to him looked like a part of the domain, after a quick check of his Sheikah Slate (which he _really_ should have used, and not his map) he found that he had somehow found himself above the East Reservoir Lake. 

_'Huh...'_ he thought as he looked around. _'That works, I guess'_

He would, however, have to take a swim.

***

After a very long, and _very_ tiring swim, he'd finally made it. He was really happy that he'd brought with him a bunch of stamina elixirs, because otherwise he'd _actually_ have drowned. Several times over.

But now he was here! At Zora's Domain, and all that remained was to find Sidon and then help out with their Vah Ruta problem. Easy peacy.

Link strolled through the Domain, looking for Sidon, as all of the other Zora stared at him in confusion. It shouldn't be that hard to spot a ten foot tall bright red Zora, now should it?

Link finally spotted him, standing facing towards the bridge leading into the Domain, seems like Link took the back way in. He started walking up to the Zora and just as he was about to call on him Sidon turned around, looking shocked.

"Ah!" he exclaimed. "Link! I didn't expect you to sneak up on me like that... How did you even get here without me noticing?" he asked, looking confused.

Link shrugged. "I think I must've taken a wrong turn somewhere or something..." He replied, a bright blush on his face. Maybe he wasn't as much of a shortcut genius as he thought he was.

Sidon paid no mind to Link's embarrassment, though. "Well, now I shall introduce you to the King!" Sidon said. "Hurry! This way!" he continued with a gleeful grin as he skipped up the stairs to the throne room. Link smirked a little as he watched the Zora Prince run up the stairs with his short legs. It looked pretty funny.

***

"This is Link, the Hylian that is going to help us calm Vah Ruta," Sidon explained to his father, the King, as Link stepped into the large room. Link suddenly realized how _hungry_ he was.

"Link?" the King parroted, looking pleased. "I see now... That Sheikah Slate on your hip, you're the Hylian Champion!"

**_*GROWL*_** Link's stomach replied, but he hoped that nobody in the room could hear it. Come to think of it, Link didn't even _remember_ the last time he ate.

"Huh," Sidon exclaimed. "The Hylian Champion? You can't mean THE Link? THAT Champion?!" he continued, but it was more of a shocked ascertainment and less of a question.

Link nodded. His stomach growled. "I lost my memory," he explained.

Link wasn't sure, but he could've sworn that someone in the room -- unsure which one of them -- muttered a low "You seem to have lost your mind" as a reply. But nobody felt like saying it aloud for everybody to hear. Link scoffed.

His stomach growled.

"But tell me, Link... You are..." King Dorephan started, but trailed off. Link looked at the large Zora.

"I'm...?" he asked. _***GROWL***_ , his stomach added. Link tried not to blush. And failed.

The king sighed. "Well, you can talk," he replied, and Link just raised an eyebrow at him.

_'Wow, how very astute of him,'_ Link thinks. 

"Yes...?" He says instead.

"You used to be mute," the King informs him. Link's stomach growled in confusion. Or not, really. But let's pretend it was.

"What?"

King Dorephan nodded in thoughtfulness. "Yes, I remember it clearly. You would converse via looks and hand gestures, do you really not remember?"

Link shook his head no. His stomach agreed with a saddened growl.

"Do you not even remember my daughter, Mipha?"

Something sparked in Link's mind. A memory, just outside his grasp. Something begging him to remember it, but... But nothing. The feeling disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.

"Doesn't ring a bell, no..." Link replied. Sidon suddenly lets out a breath of air, loudly, as if he'd been holding it since Link had stepped into the room.

Maybe he had.

The King let out a saddened hum before continuing. "Our problem is Vah Ruta," he started. "It has the ability to create an endless rainfall and it's threatening to flood our Eastern Reservoir. We need help."

_***GROWL***_ Link's stomach replied.

"Well then, Link," Dorephan continued. "Will you help us stop Vah Ruta? We would do it ourselves, but we would need shock arrows to do so and being an aquatic race, well... We'd die."

"Uplifting as always," Sidon muttered.

"My Liege!" came an old voice, suddenly. An old Zora to Link's left, it would seem. And he had problems with having Link help them. Link stopped listening about half-way through his complaints, but it was basically something like "No! Nu-uh! Never! Don't do this! This dude does not deserve to help us! It's his fault Mipha died. _U n a c c e p t a b l e."_

Or such. Link's stomach growled as his defense. 

"Muzu!" Sidon growled, clearly aping after Link's stomach. "It is rude to speak that way to your king and his guest. Link is here because _I_ invited him!"

Sidon almost sounded a bit proud that he did. Maybe because he had just found out that Link was the Hylian champion. Or maybe because Link was just _that awesome_. Probably the first one, though.

"Here, Link," Sidon continues, turning to the Hylian and holding out a folded shirt of sorts. "This is a Zora Armor, you will have use of it."

Muzu stormed out as Link's stomach let out a thankful growl. Sidon pushed the Zora armor into Link's chest and ran out after Muzu, yelling at him to stop, and that he would explain why Link should have it.

"You should follow them," King Dorephan said to Link with a frown. "They're down at the square, by the statue of Mipha."

***

Link realize now that he'd missed an important part of Sidon and Muzu's conversation. Because the second Link walked up to them, Sidon turned to him with a fierce and slightly angry expression on his face.

"Take off your shirt," he ordered. Link raised a confused eyebrow.

"Huh?"

Sidon sighed. "Take off your shirt, and put on the Zora armor," he clarified. Link was still a bit confused, though, but he did as he was told and took off his shirt.

Sidon was now happy that Zora couldn't blush, because as Link stripped out of his shirt and into the Zora armor _(right in front of him!)_ , Sidon _just_ realized that Link was actually kind of handsome. And then Link's stomach growled as if to tell him to keep his eyes to himself. And so he did... Reluctantly.

Muzu sighed when Link turned to him, wearing the Zora armor. "I see..." He said. "I realize now, that I was wrong. I will let you help."

And then he just... _Left_. And Link was left _extremely_ confused.

"What was that all about...?" He asked, turning to Sidon.

Sidon looked at him, unsure of whether or not to tell the truth, he sighed. "Why don't you take a look at the statue, see if you remember anything?"

And so Link did.

***

_"Perhaps we could spend some time together?"_

Link was brought back to reality, and Sidon was standing in front of him, a little antsy.

"So?" he asked. "Did you remember anything?"

Link could do nothing but nod as he tried to keep his tears from spilling out of his eyes. _How could he have forgotten Mipha?_

And who else had he forgotten?

Sidon realized that maybe it was a bit of a touchy subject, so he decided to leave it behind.

"I'm sorry to be a bother but Link..." Sidon started, and Link turned his head to look at the large Zora, shaking his sadness away to mourne later. "Yeah?"

"I couldn't help but notice your stomach growling as if you'd eaten the Calamity itself, you must be starving. When was the last time you ate?" Sidon continued and Link blushed a little out of shame, he'd hoped nobody had heard his loud growls. "Ah, well... Lemme see it was... Uhhh... Ehhh..."

Sidon chuckled lightly. "Well, seeing as you're my esteemed guest I feel obligated to get some food in you. Come on, let's go eat, shall we?" he said with a wave of his hand, and Link tentatively followed him towards the inn where they both sat down. The inn was empty, save for the innkeeper standing in the next room, but he left as he saw the Prince and his guest enter. Link got this weird feeling in his stomach.

They sat in silence, grilling a few fish that Sidon had apparently caught while he was swimming up the river to Zora's Domain. It was nice, in a way. Not having to talk.

Link realized that that's how he _used_ to live his life back then. A hundred years ago.

He wondered why he hadn't talked back then. Why people thought he was mute. Because clearly he _had_ had a voice. He _could_ talk...

... They why _didn't_ he? 

"Prince Sidon!" called a voice from outside. Sidon looked up towards where the voice had come from. 

"Could I speak to you, for just a second?" The voice continued, and Sidon shot a look at Link. 

"Would that be alright with you, Link?" he asked and Link just nodded. Sidon smiled. 

Link watched as Sidon stood up and left to go attend to his duties. Link had been totally wrong about this guy, he was _great_. A total charmer, handsome and considerate, a _prince_ for Godness sake and also... And also Mipha's younger brother... So he couldn't be all that bad, Link argued. If he was a relative of Mipha's, then he must be alright. Which Sidon had already proven to be, but this certainly settled it.

Now Link only had to make sure to not offend him. Link had never spoken to royalty before, much less _Zora_ royalty... Alright so he probably (definitely) had, but that was before the whole dying and then being resurrected after a hundred years' beauty sleep and losing his memories thing, so you know... He was a little out of shape.

Link peeked at where Sidon was standing. He didn't seem like he'd be done anytime soon, and nobody else was at the inn so nobody would hear Link. He smiled. He took a look at the roasted fish on a stick in his hand, if he imagined hard enough, he could almost make out a crown out of its gills on its head. It had to do.

"Your majesty," Link started but then grimaced. Not how Sidon would want to be called, and probably not any other royalty either. Seems they were all pretty laid back. "My prince," he said to the fish... But no, that sounded like he had some kind of ownership over it and... Well, he did, technically own the fish, but definitely not _Sidon_ , and much less the king or the elders, so... Oh, but wait. Didn't Muzu call King Dorephan 'My Liege'? Link tried that, but it just sounded false coming from his mouth. He sighed.

"Well," Link said to the fish. "Any bright ideas?"

The fish just stared at him with its cold, dead eyes as if to say _'I'm dead, you idiot. You killed me, and you were going to eat me but now you're talking to me instead, you're insane.'_ No bright ideas, then, Link figured.

"Sidon," he called to the fish, and that felt right. "Sidon," he said again. The fish obviously didn't reply, but whatever. Link continued.

"So what's a fish like you doing at a place like this?" he said, and then immediately regretted it. That just sounded like a pick-up line. An _awfully bad_ pick-up line. He sighed.

"Hey, isn't it crazy how that if Mipha didn't die, we might have been brothers-in-law?" Nope.

"So, how's the weather up there?" No.

"If you had to choose between being a Rito or a Goron, what would you choose?" Nu-uh.

"So are you more fish or human?" _Absolutely not._

Link decided that, maybe he should just _not_ ask any questions. Seeing as he couldn't even talk to this _dead fish_ , he could without a doubt not talk to _Sidon_.

Link sighed and stared at the fish. The fish stared back. "Don't look at me like that," Link said, grumpily. The fish didn't listen.

"You know, you're very rude," Link continued. "Here I am, asking you questions yet you never answer any of them. Never even make a sound or a gesture or anything!" The fish just kept staring. Link scoffed.

"Rude."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow... This chapter is a mess xD There's so much going on and... Well, it's just a mess. I realized like half-way through that I'd forgotten to write a bunch of things that were supposed to happen so I had to add those later and I kind of feel like the flow of the chapter was all off... Maybe that's just me though.
> 
> Please leave a comment! ^w^


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